Black or tarry stools

Black or tarry stools with a foul smell are a sign of a problem in the upper digestive tract.

The term melena is used to describe this finding.

Considerations

Eating black licorice, blueberries, blood sausage, or taking iron pills, activated charcoal, or bismuth medicines like Pepto-Bismol, can also cause black stools. Beets and foods with red coloring can sometimes make stools appear reddish. In all these cases, your doctor can test the stool with a chemical to rule out the presence of blood.

Bleeding in the esophagus or stomach (such as with peptic ulcer disease) can also cause you to vomit blood.

Causes

The color of the blood in the stools can indicate the source of bleeding.

Black or tarry stools may be due to bleeding in the upper part of the GI (gastrointestinal) tract, such as the esophagus, stomach, or the first part of the small intestine. In this case, blood is darker because it gets digested on its way through the GI tract.

Red or fresh blood in the stools (rectal bleeding), is a sign of bleeding from the lower GI tract (rectum and anus).

Rectal bleeding

Rectal bleeding is when blood passes from the rectum or anus. Bleeding may be noted on the stool or be seen as blood on toilet paper or in the toile...

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